Australia’s prison crisis has a billion-dollar price tag

Rapidly increasing numbers of people are being diverted to Australian prisons as the country experiences a government-mandated incarceration crisis costing billions of dollars.

Aspect Productivity Commission Last week it was announced that the cost of Australia’s prisons had risen by 5% since 2021-22 to more than $7.3 billion in 2024-25. Australian governments are now spending too $1.1 billion per year Juvenile incarceration ($100 million in one year, an increase of almost $400 million in just five years) and the national average daily prison population is at an eight-year high of 45,526 people.